All-American Cheeseburger Pasta

Name: All-American Cheeseburger Pasta
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 lb. ground beef chuck (20% fat); Kosher salt; 1 onion, chopped; 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped; ¼ cup double-concentrated tomato paste; 1 14-oz. can whole tomatoes, drained, crushed by hand; ¼ cup pickled banana peppers or peperoncini, chopped; 1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce; 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes; 1 lb. ridged tube pasta (preferably cavatappi); 8 oz. sharp (but not aged) cheddar, coarsely grated (about 2 cups); 3 oz. Parmesan, finely grated (about ¾ cup), plus more for serving

By Amiel Stanek

September 16, 2019

Amiel's Pasta Alla American dish with grated cheese

Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Kat Boytsova

Whether you know it as American Chop Suey, Chili Mac, American Goulash, or even D.I.Y. Hamburger Helper, this deeply flavorful, super-comforting pasta dish is greater than the sum of its humble parts. Taking the time to brown the ground beef well and cook out the tomato paste makes a huge difference. You’ll notice that none of the fat gets drained off after the meat is seared, which is intentional—there’s no other fat added here, so if you’re using a leaner blend of ground beef, you may even need to add a knob of butter or a drizzle of olive oil to compensate.